I found my way here from from Collabstack, and it's very interesting to jump into this story in media res, to not know what is subtext and what is mystery.
I don't know if it's just the plot that you've sketched out--a spouse dying of cancer, a possible infidelity--or something about the dialogue or my own sense of being pleasantly lost, but this reminds me a bit of Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik.
I really liked how you did the story within a story and how it's unclear at first whether her...interruptions will makes things more fraught or more collaborative and then how, I'm guessing, that tension somehow mirrors actual tensions between the two throughout the book.
I am late to the party here as it's been a week! So much gorgeous intimacy and you tune the strings like a violin so adeptly--at once so taut--and then just enough give! Love it!
I cannot help but wonder of how Robert will be, in himself, when Lena dies?
And this
“No, I want you to finish it, but I’ll tell you this: She’s the sort of person who might say, ‘I have decided that when I die I want to be buried with my unread books—just in case.’ ”
Oh, your heart? Mine too. "Just in case"? Sorta with Hamlet on that one ... I do believe in the universe, if that means anything. Not sure about Lena, Bible scholar?
Gosh, there’s something really touching about this exchange. Maybe one of the most intimate ones they’ve had? Almost like telling this story together freed them up to be honest without being direct. I don’t know if Robert was imagining himself as Isaac, trying on this open “infatuation with Lena”, or if he was speaking from his own truth, maybe it doesn’t matter. But I sensed his longing to love Lena in his fullness.
I think Jeffrey, that you know from the memoir how much I've read Eliot--and paid for permissions, too. But, truly though, I wasn't thinking of this poem. And I guess the question is what happens when Lena dies--to come... .
Mary - you are a master at creating literary tension; I can feel the tightness in my heart just reading these words between Robert and Lena! I wasn't sure what he would say to her and vice versa when they finally saw each other again, but the idea of being buried with unread books "just in case" is both evocative and relatable. 🥰
“No, I want you to finish it, but I’ll tell you this: She’s the sort of person who might say, ‘I have decided that when I die I want to be buried with my unread books—just in case.’ ”
Mary, what a beautiful image, being buried with unread books.
Your words are always great to read and twice as powerful to hear. I'm listening as the colour of the morning sky outside my window and a warm cup in my hands warm my wakening, the voice, yes, the voice, it's a second story. It's magic and pleasant and warm and comforting to the listener as it is respectful and caring from character to character.
I found my way here from from Collabstack, and it's very interesting to jump into this story in media res, to not know what is subtext and what is mystery.
I don't know if it's just the plot that you've sketched out--a spouse dying of cancer, a possible infidelity--or something about the dialogue or my own sense of being pleasantly lost, but this reminds me a bit of Ti Amo by Hanne Ørstavik.
I really liked how you did the story within a story and how it's unclear at first whether her...interruptions will makes things more fraught or more collaborative and then how, I'm guessing, that tension somehow mirrors actual tensions between the two throughout the book.
Oh, Andrew, you capture what I was trying to do with exactitude and eloquence. Thank you so!
I am late to the party here as it's been a week! So much gorgeous intimacy and you tune the strings like a violin so adeptly--at once so taut--and then just enough give! Love it!
Alisa, I'm late to see this terrific comment. "Tuning those strings" -- great line about the editing process that follows the invention. 💕
Lovely 🙌
Ah, Paolo, How kind to offer such encouragement.
Brilliant, intriguing story I could not stop reading tonight. Inspiring writing.
Means much, Bill. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Oh, the regret of things unsaid. Or said so late. Time gone. The sadness of this picture you draw at her deathbed is heartbreaking.
My heart broke when I wrote it, believe it or not...
I cannot help but wonder of how Robert will be, in himself, when Lena dies?
And this
“No, I want you to finish it, but I’ll tell you this: She’s the sort of person who might say, ‘I have decided that when I die I want to be buried with my unread books—just in case.’ ”
“I don’t think she believes in ‘just in case."
Oh my heart Mary...
Oh, your heart? Mine too. "Just in case"? Sorta with Hamlet on that one ... I do believe in the universe, if that means anything. Not sure about Lena, Bible scholar?
Gosh, there’s something really touching about this exchange. Maybe one of the most intimate ones they’ve had? Almost like telling this story together freed them up to be honest without being direct. I don’t know if Robert was imagining himself as Isaac, trying on this open “infatuation with Lena”, or if he was speaking from his own truth, maybe it doesn’t matter. But I sensed his longing to love Lena in his fullness.
Love in fullness, indeed, dear Kimberly.
"Once the action is taken, it becomes inseparable from the decision, the moment when one can still choose." Beautiful, Mary.
There's an echo for me here of:
"Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow"
And of course in the same poem, Eliot's 'The Hollow Men', come these lines:
"Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men "
Is this how Robert will remember Lena? And will her life end, "Not with a bang but a whimper"?
As ever, there's so much going on in your writing, Mary!
I think Jeffrey, that you know from the memoir how much I've read Eliot--and paid for permissions, too. But, truly though, I wasn't thinking of this poem. And I guess the question is what happens when Lena dies--to come... .
Mary - you are a master at creating literary tension; I can feel the tightness in my heart just reading these words between Robert and Lena! I wasn't sure what he would say to her and vice versa when they finally saw each other again, but the idea of being buried with unread books "just in case" is both evocative and relatable. 🥰
Ah, how kind of you. I was so shooting for tension and tenderness -- if I could pull it off.
You definitely pulled it off.✨
“No, I want you to finish it, but I’ll tell you this: She’s the sort of person who might say, ‘I have decided that when I die I want to be buried with my unread books—just in case.’ ”
Mary, what a beautiful image, being buried with unread books.
Oh, so lovely of you, Russell.
Your words are always great to read and twice as powerful to hear. I'm listening as the colour of the morning sky outside my window and a warm cup in my hands warm my wakening, the voice, yes, the voice, it's a second story. It's magic and pleasant and warm and comforting to the listener as it is respectful and caring from character to character.
Your words: So eloquently phrased. I am honored.